First impressions were 'average'. Asked to pay the entire accommodation bill on arrival, which is a mistake as then you feel trapped as you've already paid upfront before seeing the room, or trying the food. Then we got to the room. Basic sums it up. We arrived off the BA Heathrow flight which gets you into Grenada after dark, we were tired and really needed some sleep. There was some live 'entertainment' happening in the middle of the garden area where the restaurant buildings are - the hotel is arranged in a kind of horseshoe shape with the beach at the top - so our room faced onto the garden and the noise. It went on for hours and hours.

When asking at reception the next morning for a better room (quieter) we were told we were in the best they had..

Breakfast was fine, but not amazing or even great.

Then we tried the 'buffet' lunch. What a joke. The 'pool' area is awful, kind of made me think of some awful low rent motel, and the pool bar menu didn't look any better than the 'fine dining' experience. Scarred for life.Really, don't bother wasting your money. It was dreadful. Believe all the bad reports on here about how awful the food is, as every single one of these people are right.

The hotel could be so good IF it was just massively invested in. It's in a great location, right on a gorgeous part of the beach, and the gardens are pretty, but that alone is not worth making Coyaba the place to stay. Really, choose somewhere else.

Checked out after 2 nights and moved to La Luna, which was absolute heaven in comparison.

After all the good reviews on the food in Cobaya Beach Resort, we (not being guests in the hotel) decided to have dinner in their restaurant.
I am sorry to say, but never in my life we have eaten so badly for so much money.

My wife had chosen for chicken breast. She got two dry, badly cooked pieces with a bit of couscous and without vegetables. Price, with tax, approximately 62 US dollars.

I got a lamb shank, also without vegetables. It was a little bit more edible. Price, with tax, approximately 66 US dollars. With two desserts and three glasses of wine, we had to pay all together approximately 170 US dollars.

A ridiculous amount of money for such a poor meal.

The only plus point was the kind service.

My advise is: avoid this restaurant.

We were greeted at the airport by Johanna the Virgin rep. and put straight away into a taxi. The queues for immigration do take some time so the quicker you can get off the plan the better! We stayed at Coyaba in January and couldn't have picked a better time. Most of the Christmas and New Year guests were going during our first few days and although the resort was busy it didn't feel overcrowded. The resort is positioned right on Grand Anse beach and couldn't be in a better position, there are lots of very comfortable padded sunbeds dotted all around the beautiful gardens (they spend hours looking after the gardens) and you can drag the beds on to the beach. The beach vendors are a bit of a nuisance but will go away if you politely tell them you're not interested and if they really get on your nerves just stay behind the fence in the gardens. We were told that there is an unemployment rate of 30% and no state aid, the unemployed rely on relatives to support them, so you can't really blame the beach vendors for trying. Since the hurricane in 2004, the Grenadian economy is reliant on tourism. You'll also be joined on the beach by the cruise ship day visitors as all the beaches are public, I felt a bit guilty lying on a comfy sunbed while they lay on a sad towel.

The other guests at the hotel were mostly over 40 with quite a few over 60, hardly any children, although that could be because it was early January but the swimming isn't suitable for small children and the resort didn't seem to be geared up for children, it was nearly all couples. There also wasn't much entertainment in the evenings, maybe twice a week, but that suited us.

We requested a king size bed and were given one, which was super comfortable. The rooms were very clean with everything you need. We didn't have a problem with anything. The food at the resort was varied and good, with 2 restaurants to chose from.

We went on a trip to St Johns, which was interesting, we tipped the driver but we noticed no-one else did, bit tight as he really tried to be informative and was very helpful. We also went on a half day island tour to see a nutmeg factory, plantations, waterfall etc, and a half day was enough as we were exhausted by the end of it! There is an air conditioned modern shopping mall directly across the road from the resort which is interesting and sells a wide range of things and is a lot cheaper than other places, worth a visit.

The spa girls were a bit miserable but I probably would be if i had to massage all day long, they didn't even cheer up when we left them a tip!

We chose Coyaba as it was slightly cheaper than some others and we upgraded our seats on the flight to premium economy, this is well worth doing as the flight is 9 and half hours with an hour stop at Tobago (you can't get off the plane). You check in without queues, have more leg room, loads of food and drink, priority baggage reclaim and you're first on and off the plane.

I hope this review helps you make your decision, we did a bit of research before we went and I found trip advisor really helpful but I would say we struck gold with Coyaba, some of the guests return year after year because they've tried other places in the caribbean but found Coyaba met all their needs and couldn't be bettered. I'm very fussy and would recommend Coyaba to you without hesitation.

What makes this hotel different is the attention to detail. The garden is a joy and is manicured to within an inch of its life by the daily gardeners. The room is basic, yes, but there are nice touches such as a wall mounted pull-out magnifying make-up mirror, a fridge which is not a mini-bar, just an empty fridge you can put whatever you like in, coffee and tea making facilities (filter coffee), good sized built in wardrobe with loads of good hangers, a good hairdryer mounted on the wall in front of the bathroom mirror, nice toiletries regularly replenished, a turn-down service with a chocolate on the pillow every night and fresh fluffy beach towels every night, no asking required. The water is always hot, the secret is to keep the tap running and it will become hot, it just takes a few more minutes than you would expect. The shower head is a good size and the bath, although small, is adequate. Everything is spotlessley clean, even the white cotton blanket was changed when I stained it with some chocolate. Unlike another reviewer, we had cause to call mainenance twice; once for the air conditioning and once for the safe, and both calls were responded to within a couple of minutes and the problems immediately fixed in a cheerful and professional way. All the staff are lovely and do their utmost to make your stay pleasant. We were able to keep our room for an extra 4 hours without charge and allowed to have lunch after our official check-out time. Nothing is too much trouble for them.

The food is a little hit and miss - mostly quite good, we only had a couple of meals which didn't meet the standard expected, mostly because of the meat being overcooked or not very good quality, but the fish and chicken dishes were all very nice and the salads are really excellent. Don't bother with any pastry dishes, they can't make pastry as we know it, but the fruit salads are lovely and there was a banana and chocolate cake to die for. I also discovered they will make what we would call a banana smoothie with fresh bananas which is fantastic. Also best Pina Colada when made by Stanley.

We had a trip right round the island with a lovely guy called Lennox St. Bernard who runs a taxi firm; he was great company and showed us a lot of interesting things. Reception should have his details.Have a swim in one of the waterfalls, it's lovely especially if there is nobody else there. St. George's is good on market day, lots of colour and character, but I wouldn't personally bother to go on a non-market day, not that interesting really.

The beach is beautiful, although I don't agree it's one of the best in the world, I have been to several more beautiful ones. The next bay (Morne Rouge) is also very nice, plus it's quieter and more sheltered from the breeze and you can watch pelicans diving and swooping and if you go there on a day when no cruise ships are in it will be almost deserted. There are refreshments available there and loungers to rent for about the equivalent of a fiver for two for the day. To get there from Coyaba, walk onto beach, turn left, walk the length of the beach until you come to a dive centre right at the end, walk up the grass slope past the dive centre and little car park, walk up steep slope, turn right and walk up main road until you come to a car park on your left. Take the road which runs downhill and turn left at the bottom. You can't miss it. Takes about 20 minutes.

You may be surprised to find that people put their sunbeds out on the beach in the best spots under the trees at about 7.30 in the morning every morning, and don't occupy them until quite a bit later, in once case not until 11.45. You may be more surprised to find that these people are British, and moreover are old enough to know better. I suppose if they want to be mean spirited and selfish that's up to them and in any case the garden is huge and the sunbeds are never in short supply so you will find a space, just not in the best spot on the beach, unless you beat them at their own game and go down at 6.30...no, don't lower yourself.

The supermarket opposite is good and sells Waitrose long life milk if you don't want the coffeemate in the room although I know the hotel will give you a little jug of milk if you ask. However, it's nicer to have milk in your fridge, saves going to ask for it. The hotel will also fill a water bottle for you, but again the natural spring water on sale in the supermarket is cheap and nicer than the hotel filtered water. The Grenada Chocolate Company organic chocolate is absolutely lovely, expensive in the supermarket but a lot cheaper if you buy it on a trip to the cocoa bean place, which is very interesting. You get to tread cocoa beans with your bare feet, no I'm not telling you why, go and see for yourself.

All in all, a lovely holiday destination.